Retail

An estimated two-thirds of the US gross domestic product (GDP) comes from retail consumption.

According to the latest annual report from the US Commerce Department, total retail sales in 2011 were $4.7 trillion.

Before the internet, retailing was understood to be the sale of goods or merchandise from a fixed location in small units for direct purchase and consumption by the consumer. While 'channels' such as mail order catalogs were always a component of retailing it is the internet that has expanded the scope of modern retailing.

Retailers are the last link of the supply chain that links manufacturers to consumers in a distribution strategy.

The variety of products that is now offered by retailers covers the entire spectrum of commerce:

The Retailing industry model set consists of Enterprise, Business Area, and Data Warehouse logical data models developed for companies marketing and selling products via retail outlets.

The Retailing data models address business-wide data, reporting and analytic requirements.